Dems block Walz’s bid for top slot on Vets Committee
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WASHINGTON - Congressional staffers frequently joke that Congress is a lot like high school, full of endless halls, strange social rituals and cliques galore. And leadership elections can sometimes resemble student council races, full of intense but sometimes inexplicable passion among candidates whose campaign platforms tend to rest on likability or seniority rather than policy.
Some combination of those factors appears to have sunk 1st District Congressman Tim Walz's upstart bid to be the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, a committee Walz has served on since he was first elected to the U.S. House in 2006. Walz spent 24 years as a member of the Army National Guard, retiring with the rank of Command Sergeant Major, making him the highest ranking enlisted soldier to serve in the House and is the only Democratic veteran serving on the Veterans Committee.
"Through technicalities [the Democratic steering committee] simply decided to not put me on the committee, and according to rules then I wasn't eligible to run for this," Walz told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
Walz had been seeking to unseat Florida Rep. Corrine Brown, who was next in line in seniority on the committee. But Walz had powerful allies - including outgoing chair U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud of Maine, who endorsed Walz over Brown this week, and veterans groups eager to see one of their in the top slot. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America group endorsed Walz last week, arguing that Walz had a strong track record of accomplishment and bipartisan cooperation as a member of the committee.
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But Walz's bid was opposed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who stuck with the seniority system and endorsed Brown.
The technicalities Walz is referring to are the rules of the House Democratic Caucus. Members are typically assigned a maximum of two committee slots. Walz's primary assignments are on the Agriculture and Transportation committees, but he received a waiver from Democratic leadership to also serve on the Veterans Committee.
According to Democratic sources, because Walz was not a permanent member of the committee, a steering committee controlled by party leadership argued that Walz was not a member of committee and thus ineligible to be a candidate for the ranking member slot. Faced with the steering committee's decision, Walz withdrew his candidacy.
Another issue in the contest was that Brown is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, which has long relied on the seniority system to see its members rise in congressional circles. The incoming chair of the CBC told Roll Call last week that were Brown to lose her race to Walz, it would "cause divisions within the Democratic caucus that will take years to overcome.”
As recently as Tuesday afternoon, Walz was also under the impression that his contest against Brown would not be decided until after Thanksgiving. Then late Tuesday evening, the steering committee pushed forward consideration of the race to Wednesday.
"There were certainly misunderstandings throughout the whole process," said Walz of the sudden change in his campaign's timetable.
This is one of several intrigues gripping House Democrats this week. A pregnant member (who is also a veteran) was denied proxy voting privileges in another hotly-contested leadership race. Pelosi's ally in that race was defeated in a close vote of the entire Democratic caucus.
Following unexpectedly large Democratic losses in midterm elections, some House Democrats have grumbled that Pelosi and her leadership team have been in place too long and in an interview on Tuesday before his bid was upended Walz also voiced some discontent with the direction the party was headed.
"I would argue that Democrats need to be a little bit uncomfortable right now. The way we do business all the time is obviously not working, and I've not been afraid to buck them when I think they're wrong," said Walz on Tuesday.
Following the steering committee's decision, Walz said he felt "abused" by the process but declined to criticize Pelosi or other Democratic leaders and instead emphasized that he hoped to serve on the committee again in the next Congress.
Walz was seen speaking with Pelosi and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer on the House floor this afternoon and said he had discussed the issue with them and that they understood his point of view. As of late Wednesday afternoon, Pelosi has reportedly offered Walz a permanent slot on the Veterans Committee.